Children of the Resurrection

Children of the Resurrection 

Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17  

Gospel: Luke 20:27-38 

This sermon has been a challenge to write during this emotional week. Like so many of your friends and neighbors, I am a lifelong Cub fan who had a delirious week - as my beloved Cubs came back from a 3 to 1 deficit, in extra innings, in the seventh game of the World Series, to win the world championship.

I believe that the family nature of the celebration of this championship in Chicago, in part took place, because of the multi generation feel - this entire Love of the Cubs has. While so many Championships are marked by violence and drunkenness, I feel like many of the celebrators, felt as though they were celebrating with their parents and grandparents, whether in body or in spirit. When we spend time with those we love, it often brings out the best us. 

In the year of 2016, the Cubs quest for championship, provided me with a layer of insulation - protecting me from the emotions of the dirtiest and nastiest political campaign I've ever seen in my lifetime. I hope never to see another one like it. That reality came crashing into my consciousness as the parade and celebration came to a close on Friday afternoon.

Among the distinctions of the United Church of Christ, is our long term commitment to welcoming all people to the table. The Rev. John Thomas, former president and general minister of United Church of Christ, has explained that we are not by nature radical - we simply arrive earlier than others - to seeing the barriers that keep people from sharing the Christ.

I came to the United Church of Christ after being raised in the Catholic Church, and having experienced frustration at the church's commitment to doctrine in clear preference to pastoral care of souls. In the United Church of Christ, I found away to embrace the God of love that I knew from the Gospels of Jesus Christ, and discovered the challenge of naming boundaries that kept people at a distance, for the purpose of defeating those boundaries with welcome. 

Through the UCC I continue to receive new information about the ongoing confrontation in the Dakotas over the crude oil pipeline being built through sacred Native American grounds. I could not help but reflect that if you and I were people of color or Native Americans, the Great Lakes Basin Railroad and the Rock Island Clean Line power line would already be tearing through the local cornfields, protected by armed police in combat gear. The colonialism and white privilege are alive and visible in the world today.

We profess a belief in Jesus the Christ, who was publicly executed, buried, and rose again in three days. The resurrected Christ, has left us aware of his spirit in the world. Wherever the material world and the spiritual world are apparent or visible at once, Christ is there. We are children of the Resurrection. We are the body of Christ, a gift to the world, and dedicated to making the material and spiritual worlds apparent wherever we are.

Last week was an emotional week, especially for those of us who's love of the Cubs span generations. Our hearts have been touched by the Saints of God in this moment of joy. For me and for my family, I believe this was a taste of what comes at the time this world passes and the New World begins. The next several weeks the Scriptures will give us a variety of reflections on what it means to be in the continual presence of God in the eternal portion of our lives.

The election next week promises to be very challenging. We have elected officials, who have long been respected, promising not to carry out their duties unless the population votes for their preferred candidate. Such declarations have encouraged the less mature voices in the Community, to threaten open violence in the population.

From the United States of America we have watched many governments in the world struggle when they reach times of governmental renewal. It was hard for us to understand or believe that a transfer of power would be so difficult. In this moment, it is certainly clear, that civilization requires the will of the people to respect each other. When we lose respect for the sanctity of life, when we cease to treat our neighbors as family and friends, all of the marks of civilization are in danger.

I had sat at lunch with a man about a year ago, and we had an unlikely conversation about the level of animosity in our political process. This fellow is likely 20 years older than I am. He explained that he is well known as a very conservative Republican. He has a best friend, and they and their wives, have had great experiences traveling to different places in the world as a foursome. His best friend, is a very liberal Democrat.

When his friend ran for a seat in the State House of Representatives, he took a leave of absence from his work, In order to run his campaign. His close political friends believed he had lost his mind. In saying the words he could not help but smile.

During the pause, I said I could remember a time when it was considered normal for a conservative and a liberal have a beer together and emerge with the new understanding of each others point of view. He said, “I can go you one better. I believe that a conservative and liberal can sit together, and get up and leave with an idea that never had occurred to either of them before.”

On Friday morning in Chicago's public park, the organization of the Chicago Cubs patted themselves on the back, and received the adulation of literally millions of fans. It is well-known and well documented that the success of the baseball team is due in large part to the planning and manipulations of the baseball operation teams led by Theo Epstein. Young Theo had accomplished the same miraculous turnaround for the Boston Red Sox only a few years ago. Now he is done it twice.

The most telling statement that Theo made to the crowd on Friday, was that they intentionally selected players who they believed would be able to work together. He stated this fact, “We will all do more for others, than we would be able to accomplish just for ourselves.”

You and I are called to have a mature faith in the God of creation. That maturity provides us with a view of God, that does not treat God as a genie in a bottle granting wishes. As mature Christians, we accept our faith has marked us as children of the Resurrection. We are committed to a relationship with the God of creation that will endure for all time.

I am committed to live my life in a way where I can hear the hearts of my brothers and sisters, even when we disagree. I hope to be blessed with a new understanding, and a new idea that had never occurred to me, and could not have happened, unless I had opened my heart to them.

I'm committed to live my life in a way that makes my community better. It is not all about me, but it includes me. It is not only about my immediate family, but it includes my immediate family. It is not only about this little church, but it includes the health of this little church.

God is good, All the time. All the time, God is good. God is good, for all time. For all time, God is good. May each of us see the Christ in each other, and to be the Christ for each other, in this difficult and emotional week ahead. Amen.